Eglin VA clinic breaks ground on addition

EGLIN AFB — Friday was a day to celebrate for the staff and patients at the local Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic.

With a row of dignitaries wearing hard hats and wielding special shovels, ground was officially broken for the 17,000-square-foot expansion to the clinic, which provides medical care to veterans who live in Okaloosa and Walton counties. The $10 million addition, which will double the size of the facility, is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

“We’re hoping to decrease wait times and eliminate the need for our veterans to travel to Pensacola or Biloxi for primary care services,” said Sean Harmon, the president of ESA South, the contractor overseeing the construction. “We’ve put our A team on this project.”

The work can’t get done fast enough for Carl Williams, a Fort Walton Beach Army veteran who suffered a massive stroke last year while working in South Carolina.

Williams’ sister, Jennifer Williams, is his caregiver. She brings him in his wheelchair to doctor appointments at the local clinic once a month. At least two times a month, however, he has to find a way to get to Pensacola for other exams.

“I have to get him here by 8 a.m. to catch the bus to get to the clinic in Pensacola,” Jennifer said. “We’re hoping he won’t have to go there anymore once this addition is finished.”

“It’s going to be exciting,” Carl said. “The way it is now, if my appointment in Pensacola is in the afternoon, I have to stay there all day.”

Anthony Dawson, the director of the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, said the clinic’s rapid growth has made the expansion necessary.

“We’re growing so fast, we had to get more space,” Dawson said.

While the clinic won’t offer any new services after the expansion is complete, the extra space will allow for more exam rooms and more space in waiting rooms.

“Our goal is to provide the right care at the right time,” Dawson said. “This expansion will allow us to do that.”